Crazy Little Thing Called Love
by Prongywong
Summary: Lily and James, on their wedding day, looking back on their memories from 1st year to 7th year. Romance and humour. Plus Sirius, Remus, Peter and OC. Read and review, you won't regret it :
1. James Robert Potter

_Hey! Before I start this story, I'd just like to say, I'm really sorry for just giving up with Catching Smoke. I honestly didn't think I was going to, but after that last chapter, I just hit such a writer's block, it was ridiculous! Anyway, I've been working on this new story, but I've got to admit, it's a little scatty and weird._

_It's based around the morning of James and Lily's wedding – they both think back on the memories they had at Hogwarts. It's kind of like the full story between them, from first year, but only the most memorable times, so I don't have to bore you with mindless nonsense to fill the time gaps._

_I know not much really happens at all during their first few years of Hogwarts, so I'll probably skip through that pretty quickly. Once I get to like, fifth/sixth year, I'll put much more into the story. I'm sure the story will get better as it goes on – or at least, I hope it does. Anyway, sorry to bore you – enjoy!_

**Chapter 1  
James Robert Potter**

As the first hint of the sun shone through his bedroom window, James Potter sat up straighter in his bed. He grinned to himself, and out of habit, ruffled his messy black hair. It was wilder than usual, after a restless night. Of course, he had hardly slept a wink that night – he was far too excited about today.

Today, the day they had been planning for months. The day he'd been waiting for, since he first realised he loved her. The day that was inevitable, despite how much she claimed to have hated him.

Today, the day he was getting married to Lily Evans.

Suddenly, a small snore and the noise of someone turning on the floor reminded him that he was not alone, in his bedroom. Although he had moved out months before, Sirius Black was asleep on a mattress by the side of James' bed.

Victoria Potter, James' mother, had tried to make up a bed for Sirius somewhere, unhappy with the idea of her son's best friend having to sleep on the floor – of course, Sirius had insisted he was alright. She had a whole wedding to plan; she was under enough stress as it was.

In the spare bedroom next door, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, James' other closest friends were sleeping. Unfortunately for James' parents, who hoped to plan a grand, elaborate wedding for their only son, they hadn't invited any other family members to the event. Lily had insisted on a small ceremony.

James chuckled softly to himself, remembering how from the first time they had saw each other on the train to Hogwarts, Lily had despised everything about him. So much had changed since that first journey – the first time he'd met Sirius, Remus and Peter too.

He grinned, and thought back to all of the many memories he cherished.

* * *

_Sorry it was short.  
I'll put on another in a second.  
Love,  
Ash x  
_


	2. Lily Marie Evans

_Part two of the introduction._

**Chapter 2  
Lily Marie Evans**

Watching the sky slowly change from black, to dark blue, to a beautiful red, as the sun rose outside her window, Lily Evans shook her head in disbelief. It still hadn't sunk in that she was going to get married – she didn't think it ever really would.

Despite her worries, she knew she was making the right decision. It was miraculous; how James Potter could make even those who despised him to his core, fall in love with him.

She looked around her small bedroom, filled with all sorts of make-up and hair products, supplied by her best friend, Rachel Ashford. Rachel was curled up in a duvet on Lily's tiny sofa opposite her bed, snoring softly.

She insisted on sleeping over, being Lily's maid of honour for her wedding. Her other bridesmaids – her sister Petunia, and her good friend, Alice Longbottom – were to arrive later that day. They were both at their own homes, living with their respective partners.

Lily smiled to herself, thinking of how she and Rachel first became friends. They certainly weren't this close when they first met – they were purely dormmates. But as her friendship with Severus Snape died out, the two girls slowly became best friends.

She sighed inwardly. She didn't often think about Severus, but when she did, it always brought her mood all the way down. She knew he was sorry, and that he wanted to be friends with her – she wasn't ignorant about that. But of course, they'd drifted apart, and she knew she couldn't be friends with somebody who was so interested in the dark arts, like he was.

She half-smiled, thinking back to their first trip to Hogwarts – she was just so excited to be going there, and she couldn't wait to begin life in the wizarding world.

Of course, that was when she had first laid eyes on James Potter. The memory of it now almost made her laugh, thinking about how much she had once hated him.

* * *

_Woo :D next chapters will be from first-year onwards,  
I hope you like this story  
Please review :)  
Lots of love  
Ash x_


	3. Meet the Marauders

_Thanks so much to those who reviewed.  
You inspire me :)_

**Chapter 3  
Meet The Marauders**

James Potter sat by the window, watching people saying goodbye to their families and greeting old friends. He couldn't believe that he'd managed to ditch his clingy, overprotective mother already. What luck.

Although it could have been due to the fact that his father had quickly confunded her, and winked at James cheerfully as a goodbye.

Suddenly, the door slid open and a morose but handsome boy was hovering at the entrance, biting his lip.

"Err – is it alright if I sit down? There isn't really anywhere else to go..." he mumbled.

"Go for it," James smiled warmly, and the boy sat down opposite him. He held his hand out.

"James Potter. Nice to meet you," he said, with manners and grace that his mother would be proud of.

"Sirius," said the other boy, shaking his hand firmly. James snickered.

"Sirius? As in ... serious?"

"Yeah," Sirius cringed, "I think my mother's out to get me,"

James laughed loudly and rested against the back of his seat. This kid was quite funny.

Sirius grinned and opened his mouth to say something else when the compartment door slid open again and two more boys stood in the doorframe.

"Come in," James gestured to the empty seats beside them. A small, watery-eyed boy sat beside James, tripping over his overlong robes, which he had changed into already. The other boy had long, sandy-coloured hair and a nervous expression.

"Remus Lupin," he said, sitting next to Sirius and smiling weakly, as the others introduced themselves again.

"I – I'm P-Peter Pettigrew," stuttered the boy, from beside James.

"Nice to meet you, P-Peter," James said with a straight face, and Sirius burst into snickers. Remus too smiled, though not in a mocking way.

"Everyone looking forward to Hogwarts?" he asked cheerfully, looking around at the boys.

"Definitely!" James agreed immediately, nodding his head with enthusiasm, and he meant it. Ever since he first burnt a hole in his mother's best hat, with his father's wand, he knew he'd do just brilliantly at the wizarding school, "Any of you done any magic yet?"

"I'm muggle-born," Peter piped up, "I never knew anything about the wizarding world before a month or so ago!"

"That's fascinating," Remus exclaimed, "My parents are wizards, you see,"

"Mine too," James said, and Sirius nodded.

"It won't make a difference will it?" Peter asked, worry in his eyes, "Being muggle-born?"

"Of course not," Remus shook his head, "It's just the same."

"There'll be people who say otherwise, you know," James said darkly, "People who believe that being pure-blood is _all the rage_ and to have muggle blood is to have dirty blood,"

Peter gulped, and Sirius looked out of the window, avoiding everyone's eyes.

"Of course, we don't think that, do we?" James went on, smiling down at Peter.

"Absolutely not," Remus shook his head. "You know – "

But he was cut off as the carriage door opened and a redheaded girl walked in, her eyes very red, as though she'd been crying.

"Can I sit here?" she asked quietly, and they nodded and moved up to make room, not altogether concerned by her. She sat down by the window, and wiped her eyes, as the boys continued with their conversation.

"Anyway, as I was saying, I was looking through some of my books, and it looks pretty simple in my opinion. Fascinating, definitely, but quite simple,"

"I wouldn't say that," scoffed Sirius, joining in with the conversation again, "Trust me, two of my cousins are at Hogwarts, and one of them has left already. The magic _they_ do looks pretty complicated to me!"

"Alright then," Remus agreed fairly, "But at this level, it's simply a matter of incantation and wand movement, right?"

"I guess," the others nodded.

"How old are your cousins, then?" James asked, hoping that Sirius would carry on interacting with them, instead of staring out of the window.

"Andromeda's in seventh year, and Narcissa's in fifth," he said, grimacing.

"You don't like them?"

"Andromeda's alright, we're good friends. And Narcissa's not that bad I guess, when she's on her own." He paused for a moment.

"But?" asked Peter.

"But my oldest cousin, Bellatrix – she's left Hogwarts, as I said – she's monstrous. Trust me, you don't ever want to get mixed up with her,"

James opened his mouth to ask what house they were in, but he was stopped as the door opened again. A greasy-haired boy with a large hooked nose entered, ignored the four boys as he walked past them, and sat down opposite the redhead girl.

She looked at him, before looking out the window again.

"I don't want to talk to you," she muttered.

"Why not?"

"Tuney h-hates me!"

As she continued talking in constricted whispers to the boy, Sirius started talking again.

"Oh, this one time, I was at my Aunt Druella's, when I was about eight and Bellatrix, she tried to steal my teddy bear, right – "

"You had a teddy bear when you were eight?" smirked James.

"Shut up!" laughed Sirius, "Anyway, she used to always steal my stuff right, so this time, I soaked my teddy bear with this undiluted Bubotuber pus I found in my mum's cupboard. She was _covered_ in boils for weeks!"

The boys burst into laughter, imagining the sight he described.

"Oh, and this other time – "

"- this is it! We're off to Hogwarts!" the greasy-haired boy said excitedly, and James glanced over at them, only half-listening to Sirius' story.

"You'd better be in Slytherin," he continued.

"Slytherin?!" exclaimed James, and the others stopped talking and turned around, "Who wants to be in Slytherin?" he smirked, and looked at Sirius, "I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

Sirius glared back at him. "My whole family have been in Slytherin,"

"Blimey!" James raised an eyebrow, "And I thought you seemed all right!"

This time, Sirius grinned back at him. "Maybe I'll break the tradition," he said, "Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

James grinned and mimed lifting a sword. He'd always known what house he was going to be in, ever since he was a child. "Gryffindor! Where dwell the brave at heart," he said excitedly, "Like my dad,"

From beside him, the greasy boy made a disgusted noise, and James squared himself up. "Got a problem with that?" he demanded.

"No," sneered the boy, "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy – "

Sirius, who had been sitting up, looking quite excited at the conflict between the two, cut him off. "Where're you hoping to go," he said, cocking an eyebrow, "seeing as you're neither?"

James threw his head back and laughed loudly, and Sirius smiled in self-satisfaction.

The girl glared at them both, and stood up. "Come on, Severus," she said, "Let's find another compartment."

Sirius and James looked at each other, a glint in their eyes. They jeered and mocked her, mimicking her haughty tone. As Severus passed, James stuck his foot out, and the boy tripped over it, tumbling over his own overlong robes.

Sirius laughed, and called out "See ya, Snivellus!" after them.

"Snivellus," chuckled James, "That's a good one,"

"I'm full of them," Sirius grinned, spreading himself across his own seat and the one that Lily had occupied before. James laughed again, and looked over at Remus and Peter, who had remained quiet during the incident.

"What's up?" he asked, a slightly challenging tone in his voice.

"Nothing," Remus shook his head, smiling, while Peter just remained quiet and eager to please.

"You know what, I reckon that kid's gonna give us trouble at school," Sirius said, one head cocked to the side.

"That Snivellus? Nah, he's harmless," James said breezily.

"All the same," shrugged Sirius, "If he _wants_ to be in Slytherin, he's clearly got something dark about him,"

"Your family all wanted to be in Slytherin though, right?" asked Remus.

"Yeah," nodded Sirius, "And there's clearly something dark about them too," he said it casually, as though it was just a joke. James smiled.

"My dad's an auror," he said, looking around at the others for their reactions, "He hunts down dark wizards," he added for Peter's benefit.

"Impressive," Remus said, smiling.

"Yeah," agreed Sirius, and James grinned. "You want to be an auror too, huh?"

"I do," nodded James, "Definitely,"

"It's a difficult career path, you know," Remus said, warningly.

"So? I'll still do it," he said indignantly, and Sirius chuckled.

"Hey, do you think we should get into uniform?" he asked.

"Why, we've got ages yet," James said lazily, but Sirius was already dragging his trunk out from above them.

"Come on! I'm bored," he insisted.

James grinned, and rolled his eyes cheerfully.

* * *

_Hahaa, chapter three.  
First-year marauders are adorable :)  
Say, 15 reviews and I'll update?  
Love,  
Ash x_


	4. The Sorting Hat

_Love all you guys that reviewed :)  
Keep reading + reviewing!_

**Chapter 4  
The Sorting Hat**

"Stupid immature boys," Lily growled under her breath, as she marched down the corridor of the train, Severus Snape in tow. She had forgotten all about being angry with Severus, after than unfortunate encounter.

"I know," muttered Severus, "They think they're _so_ funny..."

"Yeah," she agreed, "Sev, where are we going to sit? All the compartments are full."

"Hmm," Severus considered, "Just keep walking. Look for places with Slytherins,"

"Okay," she said hesitantly, "Oh, they look brutal!"

She had stopped outside a compartment with several green-tie-wearing Slytherin students, who were lounging across the seats, looking very full of themselves. The one who was sprawled across two seats by himself, the obvious leader of the group, had a shiny prefect badge on his lapel. He had shoulder-length, white-blonde hair and had his arm around a girl who had similar long blonde hair.

"Malfoy," muttered Snape, under his breath.

"What?" Lily said, looking at him confusedly. "You know him?"

"My father does. I've seen his father at my house sometimes. I'm not sure why,"

"Oh," Lily said quietly, "Can we go?"

"Yeah," he nodded, eager to get away from the intimidating group.

"I don't understand why you want to be in Slytherin so much, Sev. They all look quite terrifying to me," she said, as they walked past a group of third-year Slytherins poking a large spider with their wands.

"More terrifying than that idiot in the glasses, and his scruffy little friend?"

"Well..." she couldn't argue with the fact that James and Sirius could be just as intimidating when they wanted to be.

"There's an empty one here," Severus said, opening the door to a compartment at the back of the train.

"Great!" she said happily, sitting down and getting a book out of her bag.

"What's that?" he asked, squinting to read the title, "Hogwarts: A History?"

"My mother brought it for me," she said, slightly embarrassed, "Just thought I'd read it. It's quite interesting."

"Does it say anything about the houses?"

"Yes! There's a lot about the history of the houses, you know. Very interesting. I found out some unnerving things about Salazar Slytherin though."

"Oh?"

"He built some sort of chamber – I'm not really how exactly, but it was supposed to help rid the school of all muggle-borns," Lily paused for a moment, "I'm a muggle-born, Sev. Slytherin wouldn't want me in his house,"

Severus was quiet for a moment. "That's just a legend," he said, finally.

She simply raised her eyebrows, and continued to read her book.

*

"Lily! _Lily!_ Wake up! We're almost there!" Severus' voice brought her back to consciousness. She didn't know when exactly, but somewhere along the way, she'd fallen asleep. Two unfamiliar faces were looking down at her – boys, who looked as though they too were first-years.

"Hello," she said smiling, but they simply nodded at her and looked away. "Well, I'm going to get changed then," she said coldly, picking up her trunk and leaving the compartment.

It was only then that she realised she didn't know where exactly she should change into her brand new uniform robes. Nervously, she found a small bathroom cubicle, and hurriedly pulled on her new clothes, for the first time.

There wasn't a mirror for her to look at herself, so she simply gathered up her clothes and walked back to where Severus and the other boys were waiting. As she entered the compartment, they all stopped talking quickly and looked at her in surprise.

She sat down quietly, refusing to look at Severus in the eye. Before long, the train came to a halt, and a loud booming voice told all the first-years to head towards the boats by the lake.

Lily gulped. She wasn't particularly looking forward to crossing the lake in a tiny boat, most probably with two unfriendly boys – whom she still didn't know the names of.

"Four to a boat!" yelled the large man, who had introduced himself to them all as Hagrid; Lily half-smiled at the cheery expression on his face.

"Lily?" Severus said expectantly, and she climbed into the boat with the three of them.

She looked across at the other boats, filled with anxious eleven-year-olds, just like her. They all looked just as nervous, and there wasn't much conversation. Suddenly -

"Oh, my hair! James, I hate you!"

She turned around to look at the boat somewhere towards her left. James and Remus were splashing each other with the water from the lake, as they sped across it. Sirius had his hands on top of his head, trying to protect his dark, shaggy hair from the salty water.

"Stop it!" he whined, and James laughed loudly.

Lily rolled her eyes, and looked ahead at the large cliff they drew near to. The castle before her was enormous – bigger than she'd ever seen before. The sky was dark, but the thousands of stars and the half moon lit up the scene, making it seem incredibly magical.

She laughed to herself – of course, it _was_ magical.

As she dragged her eyes away from the castle, she noticed they had almost reached the castle. In fact, they were practically under it. They walked up a flight of steps, following Hagrid, until they came to a large wooden door, which opened immediately as they approached it. And waiting for them in the Entrance Hall, was a stern looking woman, wearing glasses and a thin smile on her face. She beckoned them to follow her across the floor, into a small antechamber.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said, "I am Professor McGonagall, the deputy headmistress. Soon, the start-of-term feast will begin, and you may eat with your fellow students, but firstly, you must be sorted into your houses,"

Severus looked at Lily excitedly, and she glanced at him quickly, still not meeting his eyes.

Professor McGonagall continued to talk about the different houses at the school – Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff – and the first-years looked more and more nervous with every word.

James muttered something in Sirius' ear, and they both erupted in snickers. McGonagall looked over at them for a moment, but before she could apprehend them, somewhere in the Great Hall, somebody cleared their throat very loudly, and her eyes widened.

"They are ready for you now," she said, "One by one, form a line now,"

They filed into the hall nervously, trying not to look at the thousands of upper years looking at them.

"When I call your name, please sit on the stool, to be sorted," McGonagall said, looking at a scroll, "Ashford, Rachel,"

A girl with long brunette hair, scraped into a ponytail walked confidently up to the platform. She sat down calmly, and placed the hat on her head.

The hat rested on her head for a mere moment, until it opened itself at the seam and shouted, "Gryffindor!"

Lily jumped. She wasn't expecting that. From behind her, someone smirked loudly, and she blushed. _Glasses boy_, she thought in her head.

Avery, Marcus,"

One of the boys from the train went forward to sit on the stool. She didn't need the hat to tell her that the nasty-looking boy would be sorted into Slytherin.

"Black, Sirius," McGonagall called out, after a pair of twins had been sorted into Ravenclaw.

The handsome boy who had _cleverly_ come up with the name 'Snivellus', back on the train, walked up to the stool. Lily glanced round to look at his friend, but _Glasses_ was looking up at Sirius with a nervous expression. He had his fingers crossed tightly by his side.

She rolled her eyes and turned around to watch the sorting again. The hat was taking exceptionally long to decide – much longer than it had for anyone else. Lily had the funny feeling that it was talking to Sirius, somehow. His knee was bouncing up and down nervously, and his fists were clenched.

Finally, the hat opened it's'mouth' and shouted "Gryffindor!"

"Get in there!" Glasses yelled, punching the air, as Sirius sauntered off the platform towards the red and gold table, as though he knew he'd end up there all along.

As more and more people were sorted, Lily bit her lip in worry. It was getting closer, and closer to her turn, until –

"Evans, Lily,"

She walked up onto the platform, trying not to look at the sea of students in front of her. The last thing she saw before the hat covered her eyes was Severus' thumbs up, and his lips mouthing the words 'good luck'.

"This one's easy," was all she heard in her ear, before the hat yelled out _"Gryffindor!"_ for the whole hall to hear, and those at the Gryffindor table burst into applause, as they had done when the other students were sorted into it.

She walked over to the table, glancing at Severus apologetically, before sitting down in an empty space. She looked at the boy who had moved up for her – Sirius. She groaned inwardly and turned her back firmly on him, to watch the rest of the sorting.

Before long, she was quite bored, watching people being sorted into their houses. Only a few others were sorted into Gryffindor, until –

"Lupin, Remus,"

"Pettigrew, Peter,"

"Potter, James,"

She heaved a depressed sigh, as every one of the four boys from the train was sorted into her house. Glasses - also known as _Potter_ – and Remus Lupin both sat opposite Sirius and high-fived him happily.

"I knew you weren't a Slytherin," James grinned, and Sirius laughed.

Lily scowled and continued to watch the sorting. She caught the eye of the girl on the other side of James – what was her name? Rochelle? Rachel? Something like that. She smiled knowingly at Lily, who smiled back, somewhat confused.

"Snape, Severus,"

Of course. She didn't even hear the hat say the word – she already knew that he'd end up in Slytherin.

Remus, James and Sirius all leaned forward and muttered something to each other. She glanced at them angrily, and tried to ignore them. _Immature boys_, she thought.

* * *

_So, there you are  
I'm done with all the bits from The Prince's Tale, for now :)  
Also to my good bud Maggie, aka lessxthan3maggie, :) haha, ofcourse I won't make him get with anybody. Sirius is a lone wolf!  
And to Lily Orange, who asked about the title of the story, yeah it is based on the Queen song :D I love queen!  
Review guys!  
I gotta go warm my toes up, seeing as they're frozen to death from the awful snow :(  
__Love,  
Ash x_


	5. Quidditch Trials

_Hey everyone! :)  
You gotta go read this story, _Joy of the Envelope_, by my good mate Liv, aka _Paddywhack.  
_It is so incredibly amazingly hilarious!  
And it's on my favourites. _

**Chapter 5  
Quidditch Trials**

"Sirius, James we _can't_ just go along to Quidditch tryouts! First years aren't allowed. You guys don't even have broomsticks!" Remus moaned, trying to dissuade his friends from their latest scheme.

"Calm down, Remus!" James said, as they hurried down to the Quidditch pitch.

"What position do you play?" asked Sirius.

"Chaser usually, but sometimes I play seeker. What about you?"

"Beater, always!" Sirius said enthusiastically, and he mimed hitting a ball with an invisible beater's bat, "Remus?"

"Oh, I don't often play Quidditch. Chaser usually, but I don't want to be on any team," he said uneasily.

"Why?" frowned James.

"I just don't really have the time," he said vaguely, but James and Sirius were easily distracted as they reached the Quidditch pitch.

"Hey," James said in his deepest voice, to the captain of the Gryffindor team, Stuart Woodsen, "We want to try out for the team,"

"Yeah, and what year are you in, exactly?" he crossed his arms and looked down at the boys with amusement.

"Ahem, third year," Sirius said, his voice like that of a forty-year-old man.

"Oh yeah?" Woodsen rolled his eyes, "Nice try boys."

"Just watch us fly!" James yelled out, and the sixth-year boy smirked.

"You don't even have broomsticks."

"I do at home," James muttered. "And anyway, I can just borrow one."

"He can borrow yours," Remus added, unhelpfully.

"Clever," he rolled his eyes, "I'm sorry kid, no first-years on the team,"

James frowned angrily, and walked off.

"Honestly!" chuckled the Gryffindor captain, but before the word had even left his lips, James had a hold of his broomstick, and had mounted it.

"James!" Remus and Peter gasped, while Sirius burst into laughter.

"GET DOWN FROM THERE!" Woodsen screeched, throwing his clipboard onto the floor in anger. Two of the chasers on the team, who were already in the air – Jack Ashford and Nicolette Daniels – were trying hard not to laugh at their captain's reaction.

"Pass us the quaffle then," James called to them; they looked at each other, shrugged, and threw it to him. James flew across the pitch with great speed, and threw it towards the hoops. The keeper, who was somewhat distracted, let it in with ease; Sirius and Remus cheered from the ground, much to Woodsen's disgust.

"Alright, that's enough," he yelled, brandishing his wand and using it to force James back to the ground.

"Oi, there was no need for that," James protested, while the chasers and keeper chuckled to themselves.

"You're not bad kid," he said, irritably, "but it's against school rules. I cannot allow a first-year on the team."

"Leave it James," Remus warned, as James opened his mouth to argue.

"Yeah, we can try out next year," Sirius laughed, putting a hand on James' shoulder.

"Oh alright," James muttered angrily, but he turned around and left the team, who were doubled over with laughter.

"Stop laughing, you idiots, if you want to stay on this team!" they heard Stuart Woodsen yell at them, as they walked off.

*

Lily sat at by the lake, like many of the other students, taking advantage of the good weather, before the summer ended. Beside her, was her new friend, and favourite dormmate, Rachel, who was talking nineteen to the dozen. Rachel had three older brothers, two of which were at Hogwarts, in third and sixth years. Her entire family had been in Gryffindor, and she was half-blood – her grandmother was muggle-born.

"Quidditch trials today, apparently. Do you play? Oh hang on, you're muggle-born, aren't you? I play sometimes, but not much. Jack's always practising – he's on the team. Scott wants to be – I think he's going to try out today."

"What's Quidditch?" laughed Lily, trying to get a word in edgewise.

"Oh, of course, sorry I forget," Rachel chuckled, "It's a game, and you play it on broomsticks, right? And there are seven players, three chasers, a keeper, two beaters and a seeker,"

Lily listened attentively, as she described the game in detail, and told Lily about the Wimbourne Wasps, her favourite team.

"You know what, I think we had better get started on this homework," Lily sighed, reaching for her transfiguration homework from her bag.

"I guess," Rachel huffed, turning over to lie on her stomach. "Pass it here."

Together, they sat doing their homework for a moment or two, before –

"Ugh, Lils, this is unbelievably boring," Rachel groaned, "You know, I – "

"Hey Lily," a nervous voice from behind them, and she turned around to see who it was.

"Hello Sev," she said warmly, "Sit down."

He sat cross-legged on the grass by them. "This is my dormmate Rachel Ashford, Rach, this is Severus Snape. He lives near me – we're good friends,"

"You're in Slytherin, right?"

He nodded.

"Nice to meet you,"

"You too,"

"Right," Lily said awkwardly, twiddling her thumbs.

"So, how are you finding school?" Severus asked, as though he was responsible for her welfare at Hogwarts.

She smiled fondly. "It's good. Lots of homework, though,"

Rachel grimaced, and went back to the transfiguration homework, while Lily caught up with her friend.

"Do you like the other boys in your dorm?" she asked kindly.

He nodded. "Yes, Edward and Marcus are both in my room,"

It took her a moment to understand who he was talking about. "The boys from the train?"

"Yes, Edward Mulciber, and Marcus Avery."

"Oh."

There was quiet again for a moment.

"Well, we'd better get going," Lily said finally, "Lots of homework,"

She looked expectantly at Rachel, who gathered her belongings and stood up obediently. They walked off, leaving Severus by the lake.

"Merlin's beard, Lily, he's a bit of a..." she trailed off, not knowing how to finish.

"He's my friend," she said shortly, though somewhat hesitantly.

* * *

_ahaaa, Lily/Sev moments = awkward.  
and lmao, i put my two buds in this story - Jack Stone + Scott Tomkins. I changed their last names though.  
:) you gotta love 'em.  
though scott's not actually officially in it. yet.  
anyway, hope you like :) reviews?  
40 and i'll update.  
love,  
Ash x_


	6. Dormitory Gossip

_I did not get 40 reviews :(  
But i feel like adding some more shindig.  
Plus, these next two chapters suck so much, so I should get them out of the way :|  
Enjoy!_

**Chapter 6  
Dormitory Gossip**

Lily lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling of her four-poster bed, while the rest of the girls, sat on the floor of their dormitory and gossiped scandalously, like girls do.

"Lily!" Rachel called, "Stop moping around over that Slytherin boy, and come hang out with us!"

"What's up with her?" asked Mary MacDonald, frowning.

"She's worried about her friend. You know, Severus Snape?"

"Oh _him!_" scoffed Marlene McKinnon. She softened her tone, "What's wrong, Lily?"

"Nothing," Lily sighed, "I'm just not sure about these friends of his. They're a little weird,"

"Oh..." they were silent for a while.

"So is it just me," began Jessica Knight, "or is that Sirius Black the _hottest_ guy this side of Hogsmeade?!"

There was an eruption of squeals, as they all cooed and fussed over how much they _adored_ Sirius Black. Lily rolled her eyes, but sat up anyway, determined to join in somehow, and not become an outcast within her dorm. She went to sit on the floor beside Rachel.

"Speaking of which, did you hear about that James Potter trying out for the Quidditch team?" she said, making conversation.

"Yeah, my brother told me," Rachel nodded, "The captain hates Potter, big time."

"Those boys are pretty funny," giggled Mary, as the others tittered together.

*

On the other side of Gryffindor Tower, the four boys were sitting together between Sirius' and James' beds. Peter sat on the floor between them, while Remus lounged on a chair.

"I'm sorry, but that is just ridiculous," Sirius argued firmly, while James stuttered incoherently, "As _if_ Puddlemere should have won. It was clearly a fix!"

"A _fix?!_" James was almost in tears, he was so astounded by Sirius, "Puddlemere United are Gods! They are the best team in the country!"

"Yeah, yeah," Sirius chuckled, "I'm backing Chudley Cannons 'til the end,"

At this, James stopped pretending to cry and threw his head back, laughing.

"They're at the _bottom_ of the league table. They have been for years!"

"He's right mate," Remus agreed, "I like those Holyhead Harpies,"

The others looked at him blankly.

"Remus, they're girls," James said, looking around at the others, as though it was a joke.

"They play well," Remus shrugged, while Sirius just stared at him, jaw dropping.

"They play better than the Cannons," James put in, and Sirius glared at him.

"'We shall conquer!'" he quoted his team's motto, while Remus burst into laughter.

"Peter," James said suddenly, "What team do _you_ support?"

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Sirius and Remus yelled, simultaneously.

"You're trying to get him to support Puddlemere!"

"No Peter, you have to support the Cannons!"

"No, Holyhead! The Harpies are _clearly_ the best!"

"Peter, you _know_ you want to root for Puddlemere United! Come on!"

"Traitor!"

"Me?! You're the traitor!"

"Let him decide for himself, then!"

They all looked at Peter expectantly, who looked frankly terrified to be there.

"Well?!" James demanded.

"Err... I don't have much of an opinion of Quidditch," he mumbled, "Oh, but I do watch muggle football sometimes!

They glared at him.

"There's this team, Tottenham Hotspurs, I support them! I have a little badge and everything..." he trailed off, while the others looked at each other in confusion.

"What's football?" asked Sirius.

* * *

_Ya, it was really short :/  
Im gonner add another one, like in a second ;)  
Reviews?  
Ash x_


	7. Disappearance

_Again, this is very short. Like the last one.  
Which is why I put them up together.  
Initiative! :D  
Love to everyone who reviewed :) x_

**Chapter 7  
Disappearance**

Early, one Sunday morning of September, James was woken by a scuffling in his bedroom. He opened the curtains around his bed tiredly, only to see Remus piling a few things into a bag hurriedly. He had a greenish tinge about him.

"Oi, what's going on?" mumbled James.

Remus jumped a foot in the air. "Merlin, didn't see you there. I'm just, err, a little ill. I was going to go to the hospital wing. I was going to write a note..." he finished pathetically.

"Oh," James said, frowning slightly, "What's wrong?"

"Oh, just a headache. And I feel a bit... nauseous, you know?"

James pulled a face. "Better get going then," he said, redrawing his curtains.

"See you," he heard, before the door closed. James soon fell asleep again.

*

"James!" yet again, he was being rudely awoken at untimely hours.

"What d'you want?" he groaned angrily, and rolled over.

His curtains were violently ripped open and Sirius and Peter stood over him, a panicked expression on their faces.

"Seer-yus, s'morning. Go way!" he mumbled incoherently.

"It's an emergency! Remus is _gone_!" Peter whispered dramatically.

"Yeah, he's been kidnapped, Sirius," James said sarcastically, rubbing his eyes, "Or someone killed him, and took the body with them. Or he ran away from Hogwarts, to join the circus and – "

"Yeah, we get it," Sirius said, "But seriously, where did he go? It's like, six in the morning,"

"Six?!" James yelled. He remembered what happened, in the middle of the night; the sleepy conversation he hardly remembered. "Remus is ill," he said.

"What?"

"Yeah, he felt ill, so he went to the hospital wing. I woke up as he was going."

"Oh, why didn't you say?!"

"It's kind of hard to remember things like that this early!"

"Well sor-ry!"

* * *

_Tbh, i think this chapter is pretty pointless,  
But there were no Remus werewolfishness, so I was like, whatevs, I'll write like a 300word titbit and add it in.  
Hope you liked.  
Reviews are loved much :)  
Ash, x_


	8. From the Stands

_Hello :)  
I should be writing my english essay, but i felt like updating, haha.  
Enjoy!_

**Chapter 8  
From the Stands**

It was the morning of the first Quidditch match of the season. It was also the morning of the 31st of October.

And James was sulking.

"I wish I was dead. Just kill me, Sirius. Kill me," he groaned, lying face down on his bed.

"Cheer up James," Sirius chuckled, "It's the Halloween feast tonight!"

"We can't all be consoled by food, Sirius," Remus sighed.

"Whatever. James, you can be on the team _next_ year!"

"It's not the same," wailed James. Suddenly he jumped up, to stand on his bed. "I want to be the star chaser! I'd score every goal," he acted out throwing a ball through an invisible hoop, "I could take down the rest of the other team. I'd speed past any bludger they throw at me. I'd – "

"Okay James," Remus said soothingly, "I'm sure you would. But I think it's time to get _off_ the bed and maybe take some medicine..."

Sirius grinned and helped his friend off the bed.

"Now, let's just calm ourselves and go watch the match,"

*

"I can't wait for the feast tonight!" Rachel exclaimed, as they walked up the steps of the Quidditch stands, ready to watch the Gryffindor versus Slytherin match – first of the season.

"Yeah, I love Halloween!" Lily agreed enthusiastically.

"Lily! Hey Lily, come sit with us," she turned to see Severus waving towards her and pointing to a couple of empty seats beside him.

Rachel sighed to herself, but followed as Lily went to sit with beside her old friend.

"Rooting for Gryffindor?" he asked, looking at her yellow and red scarf.

"Of course she is," Rachel scoffed, "She's in Gryffindor,"

"Yes," he fell silent.

After a moment of twiddling their thumbs silently, Severus suddenly groaned.

"Look," he mumbled, and Lily turned to see the four Gryffindor boys she hated so much, walking up the steps. She didn't need to hear Severus groaning even louder to know they had sat down behind her.

"You don't like those boys," Rachel said, like a statement, rather than a question, not bothering to keep her voice down.

"How did you guess," Lily chuckled dryly.

"Oh, look who it is, James," they heard Sirius' loud deriding voice, "This'll cheer you up,"

"Snivellus," James drawled. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be... chopping the tails of your pet rats, or something?"

Sirius and Peter burst into laughter, and even Remus chuckled a little.

"Oh shut up!" Lily scowled at them, "Can't you just leave him alone?!"

"Oooooooh," they jeered.

"Need to get your little _girlfriend_ to stand up for you, Sniv?" Sirius taunted him.

Lily stood up but Rachel dragged her back into her seat, glaring at the boys. "The match is starting," she said, her authoritative tone forcing them all to stop arguing and watch the captains lead their teams onto the pitch.

"COME ON GRYFFINDOR!" Sirius yelled, and James roared in appreciation, as they kicked off.

"I wish I was – "

"Oh shut up, James," Sirius and Remus sighed.

"Just saying..."

Severus rolled his eyes, and Lily chuckled quietly at him.

"OH COME ON, THAT WAS OBVIOUSLY A FOUL," James screeched, as Lucius Malfoy, Slytherin sixth-year prefect barged into the slight chaser Nicolette Daniels. She toppled over several times in the air, before regaining herself.

There was an uproar at this; the Gryffindor supporters were on their feet, yelling angrily at the referee. He blew his whistle loudly, giving a penalty to the red-and-gold team.

Rachel's brother, Jack Ashford took it, and scored, giving ten points to Gryffindor.

Both Lily and Rachel jumped to their feet, along with the rest of the supporters, while Severus pulled a face, but didn't show much other interest in the game.

"GET IN THERE!" James yelled, punching the air with enthusiasm.

*

Lily sat with Rachel and the rest of the Gryffindor first-years at the table, enjoying the delicious food of the feast, celebrating the Gryffindor victory of that afternoon – 180-30. It was somewhat of an unwritten rule that when sitting with the rest of the school, the first-years should stick together, to escape the bullying from their upperclassmen. Safety in numbers, in a way.

Of course, this meant James and his 'possy' were sitting just a few feet away from her. _Great._

"So, what are you doing over Christmas, Lily?" Rachel asked, bringing her back from her reverie.

"Oh, just going home, you know. My mum really wants me home – she says she's missing me so much, yada yada," Lily laughed.

"Oh tell me about it!" Rachel agreed, spearing a sausage on her plate with a fork, "She's like 'Oh Rachel, I'm all alone at home, I've only got your father! Can't wait 'til Christmas!'"

Lily chuckled, "Oh, I guess we can't see each other until after the holidays?"

"Maybe not – my parents are having a New Year's party. You can bring your family too,"

Lily opened her mouth to agree happily, but she was interrupted by a voice to her right.

"Can we come to your party too, Rachel?" Sirius asked sweetly, obviously eavesdropping.

"Oh yeah, can we?" Remus joined in excitedly.

"Actually, I think I am going to your party," James said seriously, and they all turned to look at him. "My family is, anyway,"

"My father works with his," Rachel sighed, "Our families run in similar circles,"

"Lucky you," coughed Lily, and James frowned at her.

"Can I come along, Jamesy?" Sirius asked, looking up at him innocently.

"Sure," grinned James, looking brashly towards Rachel.

"Oi," she shook her head, "My party. My invites,"

"Hey, I'm already invited," James shrugged.

"Well don't bring _him_ then," Rachel said, though she was smirking slightly. Lily scowled and glared at them all, ferociously.

Sirius sighed dramatically. "My parents won't let me leave, anyway."

"What are your family doing for Christmas, then?" James asked, as the girls turned away and fell into a conversation of their own.

"Dunno. Uncle Cygnus and family will probably come over – we always have to spend Christmas with them,"

"And your crazy cousins, as well?" James joked lightly.

"Yeah, probably. Oh and maybe Bellatrix's boyfriend. They were talking about having a New Years' party too, actually. It'll be fun," he said dully, as they stood up to leave the Great Hall. Remus and Peter were walking slightly ahead of them, engrossed in a conversation of their own.

"Just ask if you can come spend Christmas with us!" James pressed, waving his hands around enthusiastically.

"Trust me, they won't like it. You have no idea how angry they are that I'm not in Slytherin. They take the whole pure-blood family line thing very seriously," he paused and looked away. "They're not big fans of your parents either, actually."

James frowned. His mother and father worked in the Ministry of Magic, his father working in the Minister's office itself. They were fairly well known in the wizarding world, simply for being so against the 'pureblood mania', as it was known.

"No offence, mate," Sirius said, "It's not like... it's not me. It's my parents," he said, after a moment.

"No, I get it," James nodded fairly. Suddenly, his eyes lit up excitedly. "I'll rescue you! You're on the Floo, yeah? I'll just come and get you, and we can go to the Ashfords' party!"

Sirius looked hesitant. "I dunno, James,"

"They probably wouldn't notice. Just stay for an hour or two. Please? I don't want to be stuck at a party with that Snivellus' girlfriend and that... kind of_ scary_ Rachel girl."

"Oh alright, I guess. But if I get in trouble..."

"Yeah, yeah, you'll be mad at me," James grinned happily.

* * *

_Ahaa, christmas is a-coming.  
I said, it would go very quickly :/ it's only first yearrrr.  
Can you dance like a James or Sirius, ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma (8)  
Love you,  
Lots of reviews and I'll update,  
Ash, x_


	9. The Evans and The Potters

_Thank you muchly for the reviews,  
I love reviews so much :)_

**Chapter Nine  
The Evans and The Potters**

Before long, it was already the start of the Christmas holidays, and most of the first-years were looking forward to seeing their families again.

Lily and Rachel walked along the corridor of the Hogwarts Express, looking for a compartment.

"Don't you think we should look for Severus?" Lily asked guiltily.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "We did! And we obviously didn't see him!" she was slightly cranky, being up so early. "Anyway, if we walk past his compartment, we can sit with him."

"Alright then," Lily agreed, peering into every compartment they passed.

Suddenly, a male figure appeared in front of her, blocking her way.

"Excuse me," she cleared her throat loudly. He turned around – it was Remus Lupin.

She rolled her eyes.

"Oh sorry Lily," he smiled kindly, as he moved out of her way. She looked at him suspiciously.

"Um... that's okay," she said slowly.

"Have a good Christmas," he said to them both, as they passed.

"Why you talking to the girlies, Remus?" they heard Sirius call from behind them.

"He's not as bad as those other two, you know," Rachel voiced what Lily was thinking as they walked into an empty compartment.

*

"Lily!" Flora Evans screamed, as her daughter stepped off the train. She threw her arms around Lily, crushing her.

"Hey mum," she grinned, "Hi dad,"

Paul Evans was standing behind his wife, an amused smile on his face. He too hugged Lily, once she broke free of her mother's embrace.

"Where's Tuney?" she asked, looking around for her sister.

"She stayed at home, sweetheart," Paul said, "She's looking forward to seeing you though,"

"Oh, I can't believe you're only home for two weeks, Lily! It's not long enough!"

"How's Hogwarts?"

"Have you made any new friends?"

"How's that boy, the one from Spinner's End – Severus, was it?"

"Sev's okay," she said, trying to get a word in, "He's not in my house, though. I'm in Gryffindor, and he's in Slytherin,"

"Oh, that's nice. You're making other friends then?" Flora smiled, as they got into the family car, and began the journey to the Evans' home.

"Yeah, the girls in my dormitory. One girl, I suppose she's my best _girl_ friend, she invited us to her family's New Year's party. Can we go?" she asked hopefully.

"That's very kind of her! I'm sure we can find a way of going. Do you know where it is?"

Lily frowned. She realised she had forgotten to ask. "I'll write to her," she assured them.

*

James had only just stepped off the train when his mother rushed towards him, picked him up and spun his around in the air. Several girls looked over in his direction and tittered.

"Mum!" he moaned, running a hand through his hair.

"Jamesie, I've missed you so much!" she squealed, oblivious to the people staring.

"Vic, lay off him," chuckled Robert Potter, before throwing his arm around James' shoulder. "Nice to see you, son,"

"Back atcha, Dad," James grinned.

"Honestly, you boys," Victoria rolled her eyes fondly, ruffling James' hair, "Who were those other children you were with on the train?"

"Oh just Remus, Sirius and Peter. My new friends!"

"Do we know their families, do you think?" asked Robert.

"Erm, Peter's a muggle-born, and err, do you know the Lupins?" he said, trying to avoid the subject of Sirius.

"Lupins?" Robert frowned. "Nope, don't think so. Can we talk to his parents when we drop you back here after the holidays?"

"I don't think so. He said he's going to be late back to school, 'cause his mother's ill or something,"

"Oh, that poor boy,"

"James, you mentioned three names," Victoria reminded him.

"Oh yeah. Err, Sirius Black?" he said nervously.

"The Blacks?"

"Oh dear,"

"Is he in Slytherin?" asked Robert.

"No!" James said hurriedly, "He's in my house. He's not like that, you know,"

"Ok, ok darling," Victoria said quickly.

"You don't want to mess with the Blacks, James," Robert warned, but then he too dropped it.

"So, what are we going to do for New Years?" James asked hurriedly.

"We told you, the Ashfords have invited us to their party, dear,"

"Sorry son, you'll be quite bored, but it'll be rude to turn them down,"

"Oh that's alright," he said happily, "Can I bring a friend?"

* * *

_Ahaa, lmao at the random Remus bit. Everyone loves Remus.  
And lol, that was pretty short, so i'll put another one up in just a moment.  
Lots of love,  
Ash x_


	10. The Tricks of the Floo Network

_Ooohoohoo, another chapter in like, two minutes! :O  
Hope you enjoy and review? _

**Chapter Ten  
The Tricks of the Floo Network**

"This party is awfully far away, Lily," Paul Evans sighed, as Flora attempted to read a complicated map in the car, beside him.

"I know, but it's supposed to be excellent! All the important wizarding families are going to be there, you know," she gushed excitedly, "And mum, the map is upside down!"

"Who wants to know about the _wizarding_ families!" Petunia muttered under her breath, and Lily looked at her apologetically.

"Sorry Tuney... but you can meet my new friend tonight!"

"Great!" she groaned sarcastically, and Lily drooped miserably.

"Girls, come on. Can't you get along tonight? You've been excellent over Christmas," Flora begged.

It was true – Petunia had forgiven Lily for their misunderstanding over the summer. They had caught up happily, and gotten along just as they always had. Of course, at a mention of this New Year's party, which would be full of witches and wizards, Petunia had sunk back into an angry mood.

"I think we're almost there now," Paul said cheerfully, "Oh yes, here it is. Wow, it is big,"

They rounded the corner to a large Victorian-style house, much bigger than their average suburban home.

Paul smoothed his hair down nervously, while Flora checked her make-up in a compact mirror.

"Stop worrying mum! Come _on_, Dad!" Lily urged excitedly.

"Lily!" Rachel yelled, as they walked into the house, "I thought it was you. No-one else is driving here,"

"Hey Rachel," Lily grinned, hugging her friend, "Is the party good?"

"Kind of boring, actually. Hello Mr and Mrs Evans!" she said happily, "Hang on, I'll get my parents," she turned and disappeared for a moment.

"See Tuney, it's just like any other party," she said smugly, while Petunia just scowled.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you," said Mrs Ashford, as Rachel returned with her parents.

"You too," Flora smiled.

"Come on, Lils, let's go into the garden. That's where all the other kids are – we don't wanna hang out with the grown-ups! You too, Petunia," she said excitedly, dragging Lily by the wrist.

*

"Psst. Hey, Sirius. Psst! Oi, _Sirius_!" hissed James, his head in the fireplace.

Sirius turned around at the sound of his name. He frowned and went to examine the logs, in the fireplace of the drawing room – which luckily for them, was empty.

"Merlin's beard! James, you scared me!" he gasped.

"I told you, I'd come get you," James grinned. "Is it safe to come there?"

"Err, yeah but do it quickly. Cissy's somewhere round here,"

"Alright. _Number Twelve, Grimnauld Place_," he muttered, and Sirius jumped again as James appeared in front of him, slightly ashy.

"Ready to go?"

"They're going to notice!"

"Come on, we don't have all day!"

"Oh alright," Sirius chuckled, stepping back into the fire.

"You got Floo Powder?"

"Oh yeah, hang on," he reached for a pot on top of the fireplace and grabbed a handful.

"Let's go, then. _Primrose Terrace!_"

They spun around, enveloped in the green flames, until finally arriving at a similar fireplace in the living room of Rachel's home.

"I hate doing that," Sirius muttered, shaking his head like a wet dog.

"Come on, I think everyone's in the garden," James grinned, glad that Sirius was here.

"Rachel's not going to be pleased to see us," he pointed out, and James merely shrugged

"Oi, you," two tall male figures stepped in front of them, both slightly intimidating. They looked very alike, though one had dark hair, while the other was blonde – perhaps they were brothers.

They gulped.

"You're that Quidditch kid, aren't you?" one of them said. James recognised him as one of the chasers, from the Gryffindor team. He turned to his brother, "I told you about him – excellent flier, and he's only first year – like, Rachel's age. It's brilliant!"

"What's your name, kid?" the younger one said.

"James Potter," he said, grinning nervously.

"Jack Ashford," said the older, dark-haired one, "and this is my brother, Scott,"

"See you around," Scott said, as they left.

"You're a little celebrity, mate," chuckled Sirius, and James blushed.

"Shut up," he gently shoved his friend, as they made their way towards the back garden.

"I thought I told you _not_ to bring him," groaned Rachel, shaking her head.

"As if they listen to anything that anyone tells them," Lily scoffed.

"Us?!" Sirius gasped, "We're just perfect little angels!"

Rachel laughed, and handed them a couple of bottles of Butterbeer. "Now go on, leave us alone,"

"Yeah, yeah," James chuckled, walking off with Sirius. "You see! If you weren't here, I'd be ambushed by those girls!"

Sirius shuddered. "Girls are scary."

"You bet they are," James nodded seriously.

"Remus and Peter should be here too," Sirius said.

"Yeah, I wrote to Remus, but he said he was ill, or something. Or his mother is, anyway - "

"Oh that sucks, being ill on New Year's!"

"- and Peter says he's not allowed. His mother wants him at home, or something,"

"I know! So what's going on at your place then? How long do you reckon you have 'til you have to go?"

"Not sure, exactly," Sirius sighed, "Not long. I'll just say I was in my room. I'm sure they won't care too much, anyway,"

"Too right," James said cheerfully, and Sirius laughed.

*

The time rolled by, slowly but surely, and soon enough, they were gathered around in a circle in the garden, counting down by Jack Ashford's watch –

"Ten," they all yelled simultaneously, "Nine – Eight – Seven – "

James grinned over at Sirius, who was shrieking like a maniac, beaming across his handsome face.

"- Six – Five – Four – "

Rachel threw her arm around Lily – they both jumped in the air at every count.

"- Three – Two – One – "

"_Happy New Year!"_ a chorus of voices yelled, as Rachel's father set fireworks into the sky, from his wand.

"Happy New Year, Jamesie,"

"You too, Sirius!"

"Happy New Year, Rach!"

"Back atcha, Lils,"

* * *

_Awww, Jack and Scott :)  
__Although it's so odd, cos actually Jack is the blonde one, and Scott has darker hair, but I wanted to do it like this :/  
Anywho, hope you enjoyed,  
I'll update at like 80 reviews,  
I've given you two chapters, so gimme more, ya? Haha ;)  
Love,  
Ash x_


	11. The Remus Mystery

_Hmm, i didn't really get 80 reviews, but ah well, i figured i'd update again.  
I feel this story is just doing so badly, review-wise, compared to Catching Smoke - it's so rejected! haha,  
Oh well, it's a bit of a failure for now, but i shall still write it, just for the sake :)_

**Chapter Eleven  
The Remus Mystery**

"I just can't believe he's left, _again_," Sirius shook his head.

"Come on, mate, his mother's ill. He's going to want to be with her! James reasoned.

"He just saw her in what – January? And he's missed almost a week of school to go see her? It seems so unlike Remus, to miss so much school!"

The months had slowly passed, and February had crawled along. Sirius, James and Peter were in their dormitory, sitting on the bed of their absent roommate, and discussing his disappearance.

"All the same. If it was _my_ mother, I'd want to see her all the time. Maybe she's going to die soon, or something,"

The boys fell silent.

"_I_ think it's odd, anyway. I wouldn't care if my mother was ill, not one bit,"

"That's a little harsh, don't you think?" Peter muttered, and was met by Sirius' deathly glare.

"Try living with her, you'll see what's _a little harsh_," he growled.

"What's brought this on?" James joked lightly.

Sirius was silent for a moment. "She wrote to me, yesterday,"

James held his breath. He had gotten Sirius into major trouble, for sneaking off from the party. He didn't know exactly what had happened, but Sirius had returned to school a lot less cheerful than he was before.

"My father was very angry – he yelled, a lot. Mother just refused to talk to me. This is the first I've heard from her since, actually,"

James closed his eyes, feeling guiltier than he ever had before. "Sirius, mate, I'm so – "

"Don't be," Sirius said shortly. "It's my parents. Any normal parents would have let me go. It's not your fault I have the worst parents in the world."

"Even still, I shouldn't have – "

"Drop it James. It's not your fault," he crossed the room and opened his drawer. "Here, look. It's not that pleasant, I should warn you,"

James scanned the letter, from start to finish, his frown getting deeper and deeper.

"_Stay away from the Potter boy_," he quoted, "_His sort are trouble. You get mixed up with them, the next thing you know, you'll be fighting for muggle rights and all sorts of – "_

"I'm sorry," it was Sirius' turn to feel guilty. "They're awful people, really. I don't – "

"It's okay," James said airily, trying to make a joke of it.

"Honestly, one of these days, I swear James, I'll just – "

"Cool it, Sirius," he replied sternly, "You're just in an argument with them. Seriously, you'll make up with them soon."

"Families always do, Sirius," Peter added wisely.

"Maybe you're right," Sirius said unsurely, shaking his head. "All the same – " he lit a small fire with the tip of his wand and set the letter alight.

"Bella taught me how," he chuckled, as James and Peter stared at him in shock.

All of a sudden, the dormitory door flew wide open, and -

"Remus!"

"Oh my God, you're back!"

"Mate, you look awful,"

"You can't say that to him, that's horrible,"

"Sorry, but it's true,

"Is your mother alright?"

"She's fine, she's fine," Remus chuckled weakly and held his hands up, trying to escape the questions being thrown at him, by the three familiar faces.

"She's _fine_? She's ill, isn't she?" Peter asked, confused.

"Of course she is. She's just doing okay, for now. So I'm back," he said, trying to put his stuff away.

"You're not going away again soon, are you?" Sirius whined, "I wrote down all the homework, but I'm really not planning on doing it all myself! We need you back, Remus!"

"Yes well, it's not really up to me, is it?" he snapped, and Sirius stared at him, shocked.

"He didn't mean it like that, _did you Sirius_?" James said quickly, "It's just less fun when you're not here, that's all."

"Sorry," Remus muttered, and Sirius nodded, silently apologising too.

"Alright," James said, satisfied, "Now, let's go eat. You must be starving – I know I am,"

* * *

_I dedicate this tiny little chapter to one of my best friends, Ella, who is simply awesome. She is the Remus to my James :)  
Anywho, hope you enjoyed.  
Reviews are appreciated muchly :)  
YOU'VE GOT ME POPPIN' CHAMPAGNE (8)  
ahhhhh, i love all time low so much!  
lots of love,  
Ash x_


	12. First Year Hormones

_Hello my lovely readers,  
It's friday! I can sleep for like, the whole weekend :)  
My good mood has prompted me to update, haha.  
And how annoying is it that the chapters can only be a certain amount of characters!_

**Chapter Twelve  
First-Year Hormones and Crystallized Pineapple Potions.**

"Lily, that Potter boy is staring at you," Rachel muttered, without looking up from the copy of Witch Weekly she was reading.

Lily looked across the common room. Indeed he was. She tried to look back down to her herbology homework, but the feeling of somebody looking at her was just too annoying to ignore. Especially that imbecile, James Potter.

"What is it, Potter?" she demanded, and he shook his head, being brought back to reality.

"Oh..." he cocked an eyebrow, "Just wondering, you know... how you can hang out with Severus Snape so long without getting some of that filthy grease on you. Isn't it disgusting?"

She hissed under her breath. It was bad enough to ridicule Severus to his face, but behind his back? That was low.

"You know what – " she stood up angrily.

"Oops, got to go," James grinned nervously, before nimbly disappearing up the stairs to his dormitory, closely followed by a chuckling Sirius and a disapproving Remus.

"Why did you say that?" Sirius laughed, as he closed the door. "Not that it wasn't funny, of course."

"I dunno," James admitted, a sheepish grin on his face, "I didn't really know what to say, did I?"

"Why were you even looking at her?" Remus asked curiously.

"Got a little crush, James?" Sirius joked.

"Eww! Sirius, that's gross!" James squealed, throwing a pillow at his friend. "I was just genuinely wondering why she hangs out with Snivellus all the time! Which is what I said to her."

Remus scoffed. "That's not what you said to her!"

James ignored him. "Tell me, why Remus? Why can that loser – that absolute _loser_, talk to a girl all the time – no, have a girl as his _best friend_, and I, James Potter, get tongue-tied and end up saying the most idiotic things, when I try."

"James, you're babbling," Remus sighed.

"And to be fair, he's not best friends with a girl. He's best friends with Evans," Sirius added.

"Oh and Evans isn't a girl?" Remus scoffed.

"Well, not in that sense, anyway,"

"Who _is_ a girl, in that sense?" James mused, lying back on his bed.

"I'll tell you who's a girl _in that sense_. Cecilia Maryland in third year, that's who." Sirius grinned.

"Oh yeah..." the others chorused dreamily.

"That's disgusting!" Peter chortled. They jumped. Nobody realised he was lying on his bed. "Oh, and thanks for the hello, guys!"

"Sorry Pete," grinned Remus, "But James has bigger issues. He just realised he doesn't know how to talk to people in a civilised way."

"Excuse me? No." James said indignantly. "I can talk to people. And I can talk to girls, most of the time. I just can't talk to Lily bleeding Evans, without somehow insulting her. Purposely or not," he paused for a moment. "And you know what, who wants to, anyway?"

"That's more like it," Sirius chuckled, flopping down on the end of James' bed.

"She's so full of herself, she – "

"You know, you could just be nice to her. That's why she likes Severus. And why she likes me."

"She doesn't like you!" scoffed James. "She tolerates you."

"And James doesn't even _want_ a silly girl to like him, so sod off _Remus_," Sirius stuck his tongue out childishly, to which Remus simply rolled his eyes.

*

"Honestly Sev, that James Potter," Lily moaned angrily, venting away, "Every word out of his vicious little mouth is something nasty about you. I can't stand it. One of these days, I'm just going to hex his brains into oblivion,"

"Not that he has any brains," Severus put in, relishing how much she hated the boy who made his life a misery.

They were in potions, the one class they had together, and Rachel was in the hospital wing, having eaten a batch of somewhat out-of-date toffees, given to her by one of her miscreant brothers. Anyway, it meant the two of them could catch up properly, which they hadn't done in far too long.

Severus worried about how much he and Lily were drifting apart. Being in separate houses had divided them more than he would ever have thought.

"Right you are, Sev," she said, pouring her leeches into the cauldron, "And another thing, he's always talking about blooming Quidditch. Don't care much for the sport myself, but every time I ever hear him, he's always going on about some Puddley United, or something – "

"Puddlemere," Severus corrected.

" – I mean, as if anybody even really cares. He's just so in _love_ with himself, he just assumes that they all do. Merlin, it's like – "

"Lily, you're stirring it clockwise. It's anti-clockwise. Here, let me," Severus said, taking the ladle from her.

"Thanks, Sev. And do you know what else – oh dear Lord, what are they doing now?"

James and Sirius were levitating a box of crystallized pineapple from Slughorn's desk along the aisle and towards the back of the class, where they sat, in fits of silent laughter.

"I don't know what you're doing, but it can't be good," Remus said, adding a handful of spiders to his forgetfulness potion.

"We, Remus Lupin, are going to spice up this dreary potion," James said, setting them both off into another fit of laughter.

Sirius opened the box of crystallized goods, and took a small segment of pineapple. "Let's see what this does," he said, throwing it into their cauldron.

It immediately turned from a deep purple to a lime green, and hissed profusely.

"Wow," they both chorused, looking at it in wonder.

"Do it again," Peter urged them on, forgetting about his and Remus' potion. Remus rolled his eyes, as James added another piece of pineapple.

Peter laughed, as the steam rose up in green swirls, while James and Sirius added more and more.

"Alright, let's test some potions," Professor Slughorn said, standing up. He appeared to have forgotten all about his beloved pineapple. "Mr Potter, Mr Black. Is something amusing? Shall we try out your potion?"

Remus smirked beside them, and James shot him a deathly look. "Sure, Professor," he said, handing a small flask to the man.

He took a small sip of it, waiting for the correct effects to take place. "Merlin's beard!" he exclaimed, "This tastes wonderful! Oh, you boys must tell me exactly what components you used!"

"Unbelievable," muttered Remus, as he sat back in his seat, his perfect potion unnoticed.

"My oh my, I'll be keeping the rest of this," Slughorn picked up the cauldron, with great difficulty, and staggered back to his desk. "Oh, you may all leave, by the way,"

"How do you end up being so brilliant without even doing anything?" Remus groaned, as they left the dungeons.

"Brilliant?" scoffed James, "All we did was make the potion taste like crystallized pineapple – "

" – by adding crystallized pineapple to it," Sirius finished. "It didn't even work like it was supposed to."

"Whatever. That'll come up in the exam, you know. And I'll bet you don't have a clue how to make a _real_ forgetfulness potion,"

"Yes well, you'll help us to revise, won't you, Remus?" James grinned.

* * *

_This chapter is an embarassment. It was two little random bits i wrote and wasn't even planning to add into the story, but i did, just for the sake of it :/  
I love how James blatantly doesn't fancy Lily at all right now, bless his heart.  
Also, to wishfulthinking123, yeah, i'm going to keep it completely canon, or as much as i can, anyway. Really, the only non-canon part is Rachel, but i just added her in because I thought it would be too boring if Lily didn't have a best friend other than Severus :) oh and thank you for your kind words of wisdom in your last review :)  
Anywho... off to enjoy my weekend! I'm going to watch Avatar on Sunday, finally! Anybody seen it?  
:) Reviews are much appreciated.  
Love,  
Ash x_


	13. The Original Ferret Boy

_Yooo. I just watched Avatar. It was badass! :)  
Enjoy the chapterrrr._

**Chapter 13  
The Original Ferret Boy**

"Remus," James began, "I think we have a problem,"

They were sitting in the courtyard, on a small wooden bench, revising for their last exam – Transfiguration.

"I don't have the time for this. It had better be Transfiguration-related."

"Hmm... I could have _sworn_ Sirius was sitting right here, yeah?" he said slowly.

Remus looked up and frowned. "He was! And what's that?"

"Merlin's beard!" James yelped, as he noticed a little black rodent by their feet.

"I think it's a ferret," Remus smirked, poking it with his wand.

Across the courtyard, a gang of Slytherin sixth-years were cackling at them, pointing and laughing cruelly.

James looked from them to the ferret.

"I think this is Sirius," he said finally, as he picked up the little animal. Remus shook his head in disbelief and went back to his book, as James began talking directly to it. "Hello Sirius. Are you Sirius? What happened to you?"

The ferret squealed unhappily, and pointed its little claws towards the Slytherin gang.

"Oh I see," James said, taking his wand out of his pocket, angrily.

"Put it down James," Remus said, quite unconcerned by the whole situation. "They will tear you to pieces,"

James frowned, but thought better of it. He put his wand back in his pocket.

"Should we take him to Professor McGonagall?" Remus suggested, finally closing his textbook.

The weasel squealed again, shaking its little head.

"I don't think he wants us to," James grinned, "Oh well. Let's just keep him as a weasel forever,"

"Ferret," Remus chuckled, as they stood up and began making their way back to the common room.

"You can sit in my bag little ferret," James cooed, as he placed Sirius inside his schoolbag. A passing second-year girl gave him a funny look as she walked by.

"He can't even talk and you can tell he's yelling and swearing at you," Remus laughed, as they could hear the frantic scrambling inside the bag.

"I reckon he'll be pleased if we don't turn him back before the end of the Transfiguration exam," James said thoughtfully, climbing through the portrait hole.

"As nice as that sounds," Remus said, smirking, "I think I'll go get my copy of Advanced Transfiguration. Then we can turn him back."

James settled into an armchair in the common room, while Remus disappeared to the dormitories. He took the angry ferret from his bag, and petted it on the head. "Had a fun trip? Now, are you willing to co-operate. Wanna tell us how this happened? You know what? I think I'm going to name you. I'll name you... Hobgoblin. Hobgoblin the weasel."

Sirius wailed angrily.

"Ferret, sorry."

He didn't notice the crowd that had formed around him, until someone yelled out –

"Hey Potter. What you doing, talking to ferrets?"

James looked up. "Due to a minor mishap with some Slytherin dimwits –" there was a cheer at these words – "my pal Sirius has been transformed into a little ferret. But isn't he just adorable?"

An outburst of muttering and laughter broke out, as Sirius let out a mournful yelp.

"No worries though, people," James called, "good old Remus will be here soon with – Ah! Remus! You're here!"

"Out of my way," Remus sighed tiredly, "I have the spell,"

He held a large book, open to a bookmarked page, and muttered an incantation under his breath.

The crowd gasped, as the small black ferret grew out to a small handsome boy, who was sitting in James' lap.

"Hey Sirius! I've told you time after time, we're only friends," James said, evoking an appreciative chuckle from the crowd.

"Funny. Really funny, James," Sirius stood up, shaking himself out. "Blooming Slytherins,"

"Who was it?" somebody asked.

"Lucius Malfoy," he replied, "and my cousin, Cissy,"

There was a low hiss going around. "Malfoy? Is that his name?" James considered, as the crowd slowly dispersed. "I think he deserves a little taste of his own medicine. We should - "

"No, we shouldn't," Sirius said slowly, a grin on his face, "We're going to tell Andromeda."

*

Andromeda Black, though one of the nicest girls in Slytherin house, was definitely someone to be feared at the best of times; especially if she wasn't on your side – and she certainly wasn't on Lucius' side.

"He did _what_?!" she yelled, as Sirius recounted the events of that afternoon to her, in the Great Hall. Andromeda was sitting with her friends at the Ravenclaw table, though she wore a green tie. She pushed away her plate of Shepherd's Pie, an angry expression on her face.

"Honestly," she muttered, "Picking on little first-years. It's bad enough when he bullies everyone of his own year, but when it's just first-years... Oh hello, we haven't met," she said, looking at James, "Andromeda Black, I'm Sirius' favourite cousin," she smiled sweetly at Sirius.

"James Potter," he smiled.

"I just can't believe _Cissy_ was involved in this. She's got it _bad_ for that Malfoy boy. He's got her eating out of the palm of his blooming' hand!" she ranted, "Oh look, here they are now. I'll give them a piece of my mind."

"Oops, better go," Sirius grinned, "See you, Andy,"

"Later," she said distractedly, pushing her sleeves up in anger. "LUCIUS MALFOY, WHAT _HAVE_ YOU BEEN DOING TO THE FIRST-YEARS?!" they heard her yell, as they walked out of the hall.

James and Sirius burst into laughter, at Malfoy's stammered response "H-hello, Andromeda, I ha-haven't been d-doing a-anything out of the ordinary? W-what makes you s-say that?!"

"Oh Malfoy, you wait 'til your mother finds out about this. I promise you, your head is going to be so far up your arse..."

* * *

_I didn't think it would be appropriate to continue.  
Reviews, my lovelies? :)  
Mucho love.  
Ash, x_


	14. The Beginning of the Marauders

_hellooooo, my loved ones.  
just a little chapter today.  
sorry._

**Chapter Fourteen  
The Beginning of the Marauders**

"Lily, come to my house this summer!" Rachel insisted, as they gathered up all their belongings.

"Aww, that will be nice, but I think we are going on holiday – possibly France, my mother hinted," she said sadly, "We should definitely meet up before school though!"

"Diagon Alley?"

"Of course!" Lily agreed, laughing. "Come on, we'll miss the train!"

"Let's go, then. Oh, I can't wait, no school for six whole weeks!"

"I will miss Hogwarts though. It's been such a fun year," she sighed sadly.

"Cheer up, we'll be back soon – and second year will be better!"

"It sure will! You going anywhere this summer?"

"Nope, don't think so, not this year. Hey, we'd better get going, or the train's gonna leave!" Rachel exclaimed, looking at her watch, and the two girls slung their bags over their shoulders and made their way down to the Great Hall.

"Ah, Ashford and Evans," Professor McGonagall said, checking their names off, on the clipboard she held. "I think that's all of – oh hang on, where are Potter and Black." She looked around for a moment, before seeing the troublesome pair hiding beneath the staff table, doing something or the other to Dumbledore's chair.

"That's enough boys," she called sternly, "Unless you want to stay here all summer?"

Both boys' heads emerged from under the table – Sirius' a wide grin, and James' a disgusted grimace.

"Eurrgh, I don't want to stay at school over the summer!" James protested.

"Better here than at _my_ house," Sirius reasoned, as they made their way to the station with the rest of the school.

"You should come over this summer!" James said, a sudden idea forming in his head. "For a couple of weeks, anyway,"

"Yeah maybe," Sirius agreed, "If I'm really nice to my parents all summer, they gotta let me come!"

"They sure do!" James said cheerfully. "You guys too!" he insisted, as they caught up with the other two.

"I don't know," Remus said, "My parents won't let me, I don't think. My mother's getting sicker and sicker – they don't want me leaving often,"

"Oh alright," James said sadly, "Peter?"

"We're going on holiday, actually! Hiking in Wales! It's going to be so exciting!"

"Boo you," Sirius groaned, shoving him, "Just me and you then, huh Jamesie?"

"Sure!" James grinned. They had arrived at the station, where the scarlet steam engine waited eagerly, ready to take them back to London.

*

Half an hour later, the train had begun on its long and exhaustive journey southwards.

"So, out of curiosity," Remus said looking up at the others, "How many detentions have you had this year?"

Peter sat up, suddenly interested; James and Sirius looked at each other and grinned.

"Well," Sirius began, "there was that time we were caught in the Forest,"

"And when we put itching powder in Snivvy's socks," James added.

"And when we turned Snivellus' spaghetti into worms,"

"Oh and that time we spiked Lucius Malfoy's drink with leech juice,"

"I reckon we've had around – "

"Twenty? Thirty?"

"I'd go with thirty-five," Sirius grinned.

"You must be so proud," Remus shook his head, amused. He opened up a book and began reading.

"You know, we need a name for our little group," James pointed out, "The four of us,"

"Oh yes!" Sirius agreed, "Rebels!"

"Pranksters!"

"The trouble-makers!"

"The absolutely, idiotic, arrogant, big-headed, marauding – " Remus began.

"The Marauders!" James exclaimed.

"Remus you're a genius!" Sirius grinned, planting a big wet kiss on a horrified Remus' cheek.

*

"Come on, wake up, Rach! We're almost here!" Lily shook her friend awake, and Rachel's eyes opened for a second, before she turned over and closed them again.

"You go, I'm going back to bed," she mumbled sleepily.

Lily laughed. "It's the summer holidays; you can sleep all you damn like!"

"Oh yeah," Rachel chuckled, yawning and stretching her arms out. "I wish you could come over though,"

"Me too," Lily said. "Oh look, my family's at the station. And yours too!

The Evans' were chatting happily to the Ashfords, waiting for the large infamous train to arrive. Suddenly, Petunia tugged on her father's sleeve, and pointed into the distance, where the Hogwarts Express rounded the corner into King's Cross station.

"Lily!" Flora Evans yelled, as Lily jumped off the train. She was happy to see her daughter again, after so long.

*

"Mum! Dad!" James cried, running towards his parents, dragging Sirius, Peter and Remus along behind him. "I want you to meet all my new friends,"

"Why hello," Victoria smiled, as Robert shook hands sincerely with the three boys.

"Can Sirius come over sometime this summer?" James asked with excitement, looking from his father to his mother. "The others are busy, which sucks big time, but Sirius said he can possibly come over maybe, if he's really good"

"That's absolutely fine," gushed Victoria, and the boys beamed.

"It's a shame you two can't come too. Maybe next summer?" Robert suggested.

Remus and Peter nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh, I think my mother's calling me," Sirius sighed, looking towards a woman wearing in dark robes and a sour expression.

Robert and Victoria exchanged dark looks, but James was too busy saying goodbye to his friends to notice.

"I'll write to you all!" he promised, yelling over his shoulder.

"See you in a few weeks Sirius," Victoria called kindly. "Bye boys!"

* * *

_sorry. very short and little and whatnot.  
btw, i apologise if there's like hardly any lily moments. but i seriously don't know what to write for her!  
inspiration?  
and also, how many people have a blog on tumblr?  
'cause guess who decided to make one? yeah that's right - me.  
follow me! cos seriously, i have 1 follower. and that's my buddy liv.  
ashhsays[dot]tumblr[dot]com -- replace the [dot]s with dots. if that wasn't obvious.  
lots of love, and reviews?  
Ash x_


	15. Rescuing Sirius

_hello. last chapter was pretttty awful, so here you go, chicas/chicos.  
loveeeee you_

**Chapter Fifteen  
Rescuing Sirius**

It was the beginning fourth week of the summer holidays, and James was awake, just as the sun rose. After a whole year – take a month or so – of living with three other boys, his bedroom seemed unnaturally quiet. James sat at his old wooden desk, and got out a fresh sheet of parchment. Maybe it was time to write to his friends.

_Dear Sirius,_ he wrote.

_My fellow marauder! I'm so bored at home! It's only been a day, but there's nothing to do – I've been thinking of pulling a prank on some of the horses, they'd never expect it! But it'll be boring by myself. My mother refuses to go to work; she says she wants to spend as much time with me as possible before school starts. I keep telling her, I'll be fine by myself, but you know what mothers are like! _

_I played a little Quidditch with Dad, practising for when I try out this year! I know I'll make it onto the team – how can I not!_

_I hope you're having a great summer! Missing all you guys of course. _

_James!_

He read it over, then copied the note onto two other pieces of parchment, changing the names to Remus and Peter. Looking at it once more, he added a postscript to the end of Sirius'.

_P.S. When are you coming over? Just spend the end of the holidays with us and we'll take you to King's Cross with us!_

"Hooter!" he cooed, and his brown and white barn owl flew down from her cage and perched on the end of his desk. "Good boy" he smiled, attaching the letters to her leg, "You know where to take these, yeah? Remus, Sirius and Peter. Oh, and Peter's somewhere in Wales. Make sure you find him."

He fed Hooter a little owl treat, before sending him out of the window, soaring across the acres of green fields. "Hurry back!" he called, feeling a little lonely.

"Jamesie! Are you hungry?" his mother called from downstairs, "I have some lunch for you,"

Being a growing boy, he hurried down the stairs, and straight into the enormous, ornate kitchen, where his mother had a sandwich on a plate for him, along with some chips, salad and a tumbler of pumpkin juice.

"Eww mum! You know I hate salad," he grumbled, picking the green leaves off his plate as he sat down at the kitchen table.

"James!" his mother scolded, but she looked at her watch distractedly. "Oh darling, I've been called into work, there's some huge incident – not really sure when I'll be back. You'll be okay, right?"

"I'll be fine mum," James sighed, eager to have the house to himself.

"Don't get up to any trouble," she warned, swinging her bag over her shoulder "Mr and Mrs Edwards are over the road if you need anything,"

James rolled his eyes, knowing 'over the road' was about half a mile away, considering the size of their manor. "_Bye_ mum!"

"Oh alright dear. See you this evening," she called, halfway out of the door.

James grinned to himself, stuffing the remains of his sandwich into his mouth – unfortunately his smile quickly faded as he realised he really didn't have anything to do, even though his mother had stopped smothering him. He sighed. If only Sirius was here right now.

Then, as if on cue, a black screech owl swooped in through the kitchen window. It angrily threw a letter into James' lap, before flying off again, as though being in the house for longer than needed would be too much to bear.

Chuckling, James unfolded the letter to see Sirius' large, untidy scrawl.

_Hey you! _

_I wondered when you'd write, marauder old pal. I was beginning to get worried Jamesie-kins! Just kidding. Sorry about the owl, I had to steal it from my parents, seeing as I don't have one myself. I'm not complaining though, I don't have the patience for silly owls! Stupid birds. _

_Mother's being an absolute nightmare, as usual. She's still angry about the whole 'being in Gryffindor' thingo, as is father. And to make things worse, Reg is coming to Hogwarts this year. I told you about my brother Regulus, right? He'll most definitely be in Slytherin, the smarmy little git. _

_Anyway, sorry to bring you down. I think I'll probably be able to stay round at yours. My parents won't be bringing me over though – no way! You couldn't pick me up, could you? That would be great. Anytime soon would be brilliant – I wanna get out of this place! _

_Hope to see you soon,_

_Sirius_

James grinned widely and ran up to his bedroom, two steps at a time, and began throwing things around, making room for Sirius. He shoved the neatly pressed clothes hanging in his wardrobe to one side, so his friend could put all his belongings in there when he arrived.

"James!" his father's rang from downstairs, "I'm home! Has your mother gone to work?"

"Yeah, but dad, I got a letter from Sirius – he asked if we can go pick him up from his place. Oh please can we go?! As soon as possible?!"

Two days later, James was pacing on the front lawn outside his house, waiting for his parents, so they could leave.

"Mum, Dad, hurry up!" he whined, "Sirius is waiting for us!"

"Calm down son," Robert laughed as they walked through the ornate front door, "It'll take us two seconds to apparate there,"

"I know, but I just can't wait!" James practically squealed.

"Calm down, sweetheart," cooed Victoria, ruffling James' hair.

"Mum, don't do that while Sirius is here! He'll think I'm such a loser!"

"Oh alright," she sighed, defeated.

"Well, are we ready?" Robert asked, grinning, to which James nodded enthusiastically tugging on his father's arm.

All of a sudden, he felt the overwhelming yet familiar sensation of apparition; the world around him spun incredibly fast, and he felt as though he was being sucked through a tube. Just as quickly as it had begun, it stopped.

They found themselves in the middle of a crowded square in London.

"Number Twelve," Robert muttered under his breath, frowning.

"Hang on, it goes ten, eleven, thirteen," Victoria pointed out, looking to her husband, the look of confusion on her face mirrored in his. Suddenly, a house seemed to appear out of nowhere, I n between numbers eleven and thirteen. James gasped, and Victoria looked around in shock, to see if any of the muggles around had noticed.

"I think it's somehow charmed to stop muggles seeing it," Robert said, as they climbed up the steps and knocked on the brass knocker.

The door flew open within seconds, and a haughty-looking woman stood there, glaring at them.

"Oh hello," she said stiffly, "Walburga Black. Nice to meet you," Without waiting for a response, she turned and screeched up the stairs behind her. "Sirius! Your _friends_ are here!"

There was a thudding coming down the stairs, and Sirius' grinning face came into view, his trunk being dragged along behind him. "Hey!" he said excitedly.

"Who is it, Wal?" somebody called from further inside the house.

"The Potters," she sneered slightly, before turning back to them. "My husband, Orion,"

"Oh, you'll be looking after my son for the next two weeks, hmm?" Orion said darkly, as he came to the door.

"I assure you, he'll be in good hands," Victoria said hurriedly, "And we'll be happy to see him onto the train, with James,"

"Very well," Orion nodded, stepping back to let Sirius pass. "Goodbye, son,"

"Bye!" Sirius called happily, skipping down the steps with James.

"How has your summer been, Sirius?" Robert asked politely, as they followed suit.

"It's been alright, thank you. A little boring, you know," Sirius replied, "I kind of can't wait to be back at school!"

"Woah! Let's not go crazy!" James exclaimed, while his parents chuckled.

"Alright, you ready to apparate back home, boys?"

* * *

_best buddies! :)  
follow me on tumblr, readers!  
lots of love,  
Ash, x_


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